Sizer-adjuster.



U. PARKER.

SIZER ADJUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED mmeo, x911.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

2 sHEETs-sHET l- Inventor Witnesses Attorneys D. P'ARKER.

, SIZER ADJUSTER APPLICATION FILED IAN. 30, I9I1- 2 SHEETS-SHEET-ZWitnesses sas ans DONALD PARKER, or TAMPA, FLORIDA.

V SIZER-AIDJ'USTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Application filed January 30, 1917. Serial No. 145,500.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tampa, in the county of Hillsborough and State of Florida,have invented a new and useful Sizer-Adjuster, of which the following isa specification.

This invention aims to provide novel means whereby some or all of thesizing rollers in a grading machine may be raised and lowered, therebysaving time in making changes in the size of the grade opening, to

accommodate different kinds of fruit, or

difierent kinds of the same fruit.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and toenhance the utility of devices of that type to which the presentinvention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in top plan, a portion of afruit grader constructed in accordance with the present invention, partsbeing broken away;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the structure shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a fruit grader embodying the presentinvention; and

the means whereby thesizing rollers are mounted.

The device herein disclosed may be assembled with graders of widelydifferent sorts, but in the drawings, there is shown one kind of agrader with which the device Fig. 4 is a fragmental elevation showingers 8 preferably taper from their central portions toward their ends,and carry the upper run 9 of'a belt conveyer, the lower run of which,denoted by the numeral 10, cooperateswith the idle rollers 5. It will beobvious from Fig. 3 of the drawings, that when the fruit is carriedalong by the upper run 9 of the conveyer belt, the fruit, owing to theshape of the rollers 8, will tend to gravitate laterally into thedelivery chutes 3.

The numeral 11 indicates standards provided with ears 12 receivingsecuring elements 14 whereby the standards may be attached to the sidewalls 2 of the frame. The standards 11 include feet 15 extendedlongitudinally of the frame, and provided with slots 16 receivingsecuring elements 17 engaged with the bottom 1 to aid in holding thestandards inplace. The standards 11 are equipped with vertical guideways 18. At the upper ends of the standards 11, bearings 19 are formed.Journaled for rotation in the bearings 19 are shafts 20, each shaftbeingoperated by any suitable means indicated at 21. The shafts 20 supportpinions 22 meshing into rack bars 23 mounted to reciprocate verticallyin the guide ways 18. The hubs of the pinions 22' carry set screws 61engaging the shafts 20. Secured to each of the shafts 20 is a ratchetwheel 24, adapted to be engaged by a pawl 25 carried by the standard 11.If desired, a set screw 26 may be threaded into each rack bar 23, nearto securing members 33 to the ends of sizing rollers 3-1 which,preferably, are of the tapered construction shown in the drawings.

It will be obvious that by rotating the shaft 20, the pinions 22,meshing into the racks 23 will elevate the sizing rollers 34, or lowerthe sizing rollers, thereby to vary the size of the grading openingsexisting between the sizing rollers and the bottom 1. A reverserotationof the shaft 20, and a consequent downward movement of the sizingrollers is prevented by the coaction be:

tweenthe ratchet wheel 24 and the pawl 25. In addition, the rack bars23, and conse- Iquently the sizing rollers 34, m'ay beheld n adjustedpositions by tightening. upthe set screws 26 which are threadedinto thelower endsof the rack bars .23. and engage the standards 11. r v I Anyof the set screwsfil may be loosened, and then the corresponding pinions22 will not rotate when the shafts are rotated, the rack bars 23 beingheld against vertical movement,-by tightening up the set screws j isclaimed is 26} In this way, some. of thesizing rollers '34: maybe raisedandlowered,others of the sizing rollers being permittedto remainstationary, so far as verticalv adjustment is concerned. I

- 7 Having thus described the invention, what 1. A fruit sizer" orgrader, one grading wall of which comprises a plurality of ndependentlyhorizontally disposed intercon- V ingand lowering all of said sizingrolls 1 simultaneouslytovary the size of the grade said rolls attheiradjacent ends, a bearing' opening controlled thereby. 7 a

3. A fruit grader, one grading-wall of which Comprises a plurality ofindependent sizing rolls arranged in horizontal alinement, means forflexibly interconnecting supporting each of said interconnectingmeans,-andmeans for moving saldgbearlngs to simultaneously raise orlower the opposite ends'of said sizing rolls the same distance to -meansfor flexibly interconnecting thesaid rolls at tlielr ad acent ends, abearingfor '50 vary the grade openingcontrolled thereby.

4'. A fruitsizer or grader, one grading wall of which comprisesa'plurality of 'inde-' pendent sizing rollsarranged in alinement,

each of said interconnecting means, a' support for-eachlof sald bearmgs,a guide 1 longitudinally of which-'said bearing,sup-

ports are adjustable, and means cooperating. with all of said supportsfor; simultaneously adjusting the same toraise andlower'sa'idsizing/rolls in unison to vary the "respective grade openings controlledthereby.

i 5. A fruit sizer or gra'der, one grading copies 5; th islpatcnt' inaybe obtatne difor five cents wall of which comprises' a plurality of in-7 dependent sizing rolls arranged in aline ment, meansfor flexiblyinterconnecting the v sa1d, .rolls at'the1r ad acent ends, a bearing foreach ofsaid interconnecting means, a

support for each of said bearings, a guide longitudinally of which saidbearing supportsareadjustable, means cooperating with all of saidsupports for simultaneously adjusting the same, tov raise and lower saidsizing rolls in unison to vary-the respective grade openings controlledthereby, and means for locking said; rolls 1n theirad uste edposition;

6. A fruit'si'zer or grader, one grading wall of which comprises'aplurality of independent; sizing rolls arrangedlin alinement, means forflexibly interconnecting the said rolls at their adjacent ends, abearing for eachof said. roll interconnecting means, a

rack to which each of' said bearings is at- V tached, a guidelongitudinally of which. each of said racks is movable, a' pinioncooperating' with each of said racks, and ashaft interconnecting saidpinions and capable of rotation for simultaneously adjusting said rollsto varytherespective'grade openings controlled thereby. 4

7. A fruit sizer-or grader one grading wall of wlnch comprlses a gradingroll,.a-

bearing rotatably supporting each end thereof, and means forsimultaneously raising or lowering the opposite ends of saidrollrelatively to the other grading wall tovary the size of the gradeopening controlled thereby. I

1 8. A'fruit si'zer, the size openings of which are formedby theintervening} space ranged end to. end in' longitudinal 'alinement, meansfor simultaneously varying the s ze openmgsiorined between sald sizingWalls by the simultaneous adjustment of one' of said walls as a unitrelatively to the other, and means for independently varying the sizeopenings formed between said sizing 'wallsvby therindependent adjustmentof the, said sizing roll units relative to the'other wall-,-inember.-

-In testimony that Iclaim theforegoing as myown, I have hereto afixed mysignature I in the'presence of two witnesses. I r ALD PARKER] 4 A r @DONWitnesses:

M. 'BINNICK, Ji GLENN, 1

-between the substantially parallel] sizing. I V

walls, one sizingwall of which comprises a plurality of independentsizing roll units areach, by addrcs sing the "fl ommis sijoner o! latentlr it 7 wasn1n wn.n.c.a 7 P

